


The Middle of the Night

by AniPendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: Established Relationship, Established TaiQrow, Family, Fluff, Light Romance, M/M, Takes Place Before Ruby Goes to Beacon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 04:51:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5954269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniPendragon/pseuds/AniPendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby has a nightmare and gets her dad. They talk about the past and the future, all at once. They talk about Ruby's acceptance to Beacon, Team STRQ, and what it means to be a hunter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Middle of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Now we're adding Ruby and Yang into the mix! Yet another TaiQrow oneshot by me. This one is established TaiQrow with an emphasis on Taiyang and Ruby's father/daughter relationship. Mostly because Ruby is totally a daddy's girl and she obviously loves her uncle.
> 
> Comment if you like it!

It was maybe two in the morning when Taiyang awoke to a soft voice at the door. Peeling himself out of the crook of Qrow's neck, he lifted his head and squinted at the soft light coming from the open door.

"Rubs?" he guessed, his voice rough from sleep.

"Hey, Dad," she said. Her voice was soft and hesitant. Tired and scared all at once. Taiyang sighed and peeled himself out of Qrow's sloth-like grasp. Qrow whined and wrapped himself around Taiyang's pillow the moment Taiyang slid out of bed. Taiyang rolled his eyes and Ruby gave a soft giggle.

He followed Ruby out of the bedroom, down the hall, and to the living room, where the side lamp was already turned on. Taiyang frowned. Had Ruby been out here by herself? Sure, she was fifteen and starting at Beacon Academy soon, but he still didn't like the idea of his little girl trying to deal with these kind of things on her own.

Sitting down on the couch, Taiyang patted the spot next to him and waited as Ruby clambered onto the couch and cuddled up next to him. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and rubbed slow circles.

"Bad dream?" guessed Taiyang. Ruby nodded, her head tucked against Taiyang's shoulder. "Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. Taiyang sighed. Yeah, he understood that. He and Qrow both had dreams like that – though they were becoming less common, these days. Even if they were still too common for his liking.

"Your sister comes home tomorrow," Taiyang said. "You excited to go to Beacon with her?"

"Yeah," said Ruby. Then, she pulled away from him. "No." She leaned back on the arm of the couch and let her head hang over the edge. "I don't know."

"Oh?" asked Taiyang, raising an eyebrow. This was the first he'd heard of her misgivings. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing?" Ruby said, though her voice sounded more like a guess. She sat up and stared at Taiyang, her arms wrapped around her knees. "It's just. I don't _want_ to be special, Dad. I just wanna be a normal Huntress."

Taiyang barely stifled a chuckle. Trust Ruby to not want to be special. "You're descended from Team STRQ, sweetheart, you were never going to be normal. None of us were."

"Not even Uncle Qrow?" asked Ruby, furrowing her brow.

"Have you seen your uncle?" asked Taiyang, a touch of amusement in his voice. He loved the guy, but really, Qrow was _far_ from normal.

Ruby giggled. "Good point." She went silent again, frowning more to herself than to him. He knew that look. It was the same one Summer used to get when she was worried about the team – _her_ team, she always said. And with those eyes, Ruby looked exactly like a slightly younger Summer in their first year of Beacon. It was enough to have Taiyang fighting flashbacks from time to time.

"Dad?" asked Ruby.

Taiyang smiled at her. "Yeah?"

"What was Mom like, in Beacon, I mean?" asked Ruby, nibbling on her lower lip. Taiyang started, the question having caught him off guard.

"In Beacon?" he echoed.

Ruby nodded, and the hesitation in her expression – the fear that marred her every movement – that made Taiyang stop. It occurred to him, perhaps for the first time, that Ruby wasn't _just_ nervous about going to Beacon or leaving her friends behind. She was _scared_.

Taiyang rubbed a hand over his mouth. "In Beacon," he echoed. He chuckled. "A lot like you, actually." And he was smiling as he said it. He saw Ruby perk up a bit at the words.

"Yeah?" she said.

He nodded. "Yeah. She was quiet, but determined. Always willing to make a tough call – terrified to, though. She loved us more than anything else, and I think that was part of what made her such a great leader." He leaned back against the couch and stared blankly at the ceiling. In his mind's eye, he saw those first few days at Beacon. His partnership with Qrow. His leader, Summer. Raven, the quiet renegade that no one knew what to make of.

Those had been the days, back before everything went to hell. Before Raven had left and Summer had died and Qrow and Taiyang had shut down, one after the other, for almost a decade.

"She wasn't fearless," he said, breaking the lengthy silence that had fallen between them. "She was scared. Scared of losing us, of hurting someone, of making a bad call. But she never let that stop her." He thought about their first mission. About the Beowolves and the sound of Qrow's scythe, the very first time he'd every full extended it.

"She knew how to make us work together, even when we were at each other's throats." He chuckled again, remembering how Qrow and Raven fought like cats and dogs – and how Taiyang and Qrow had as well, at first.

"How?" asked Ruby.

Taiyang grinned. "Mostly? Appealing to our heroic sides. As much as we fought, we all wanted to be heroes, and nothing could change that." He stared up at the ceiling, wistful. "She was… amazing, Ruby."

"You loved her," said Ruby.

"'Course," said Taiyang. "Still do, as a matter of fact." He looked at Ruby and smiled, warm and soft all at once. "Part of me will always love your mother, no matter how long she's been gone."

Ruby nodded. "Good." Then, with a bit lip and a slight hesitation, "You love Uncle Qrow too, don't you? The way you loved Mom?"

Taiyang felt his face heat up. Ah, this conversation. He'd been dreading it for a while. It wasn't that Ruby and Yang didn't _know_ he and Qrow were in a… romantic relationship. It was simply that they didn't quite get the depth of it. Taiyang suspected Yang thought it was a fling, and that Ruby thought it was more of a comfort thing than anything else, like two friends cuddling during a thunderstorm.

"Yeah," said Taiyang, his voice surprisingly hoarse. "I really do. Not the exact way I loved your mother, but something close."

Ruby nodded, tucking her chin closer to her knees.

"He'll never replace your mother Ruby, I don't mean for him to," said Taiyang.

"I know," said Ruby. "And I know he won't. He's Uncle Qrow, not Mom Qrow. Even if you two do love each other."

"Aren't you a clever one," said Qrow. Taiyang looked up to see Qrow leaning, bare chested, in the doorway. His numerous scars were stark against his pale skin, crisscrossing his shoulders and torso.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow," said Ruby. Qrow nodded to her and crossed the room, sitting on the other side of Taiyang, away from Ruby. He watched the two of them, his expression closed off.

"Everything okay?" asked Taiyang.

Qrow nodded. "Fine. What about you, Ruby? Heard you were having nightmares again."

"How'd you know that?" asked Ruby, cocking her head to one side. Qrow only shrugged.

"Beacon?" he guessed.

Ruby nodded. "I just don't know if I'll fit in," said Ruby. "I'll be the youngest one there."

"Not the worst, though, by far," said Qrow. "You're a good kid. Talented, disciplined, and skilled – most importantly." He slung an arm around Taiyang's shoulders and gave his crooked grin to Ruby. "You'll do great kid, and you'll have your sister."

"What if we're not on the same team?" asked Ruby, voice tight. Taiyang stared. He could have gotten all of this out of Ruby sooner or later, but never this quickly. It was Qrow's talent, he knew, getting people to say what they meant much faster. It was a golden tongue trick he'd picked up years ago in the bars between missions.

"You will be," said Qrow.

"How do you know?" asked Ruby.

Qrow grinned. "Ozpin has run Beacon for twelve years kid, I've never seen him split up siblings that actually get along." He shrugged, dismissive. "Besides, he rigs teams."

Ruby stared. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Qrow. "All kinds. He does background checks on his students, messes with them in the forests. Most teams he leaves random, but if he knows some people need each other, he'll play his hand." Qrow shook his head, his breath ghosting Taiyang's cheek as he chuckled. "He's good like that."

"You trust him," said Ruby.

"With my life," said Qrow.

"So do I," said Taiyang.

Ruby frowned. "Why?" she asked.

Taiyang looked at Qrow and Qrow looked back at him. A thousand things passed between them in that moment. Most of which they would never speak aloud. Most of which they shouldn't know. Most of which they could never tell Ruby or Yang about. Ozpin wasn't a man you could claim deeds to beyond his school, no matter how many things he'd done.

"He's done a lot for us," said Taiyang, choosing his words carefully. Qrow tucked closer to him, pressing their sides together from shoulder to hip, he still had an arm around Taiyang's shoulders. "He's saved us, more than once."

Ruby nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Okay," she said. Then, in a very quiet voice, "Do you think he'll like me?"

Taiyang smiled and settled himself more comfortably against Qrow, who he could feel chuckling under his breath.

"Ruby, I think he already does," said Taiyang. "Or else I don't think you'd be going to Beacon."

Ruby frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah, kiddo," said Qrow. "Ozpin doesn't personally visit a lot of people to ask them to come to Beacon. You're pretty special just for that."

Ruby sighed. "I don't _want_ to be special."

"I know, sweetheart," said Taiyang. "But take it as a good omen. Ozpin rarely makes mistakes about who will be a good huntress. It's… almost like a guarantee that all your hard work will be worth it."

"Really?" asked Ruby. She unfolded herself from the edge of the couch and smiled, a light returning to her eyes. "Then… I guess it's not so bad."

"Exactly," said Qrow.

"You guys are the best dads," said Ruby, grinning. Qrow went stiff against Taiyang at the words.

"Dads?" echoed Taiyang, his own voice strained.

Ruby blinked. "Well, yeah," she said. "You can't be a mom, Uncle Qrow, you're a guy." Ruby giggled and hopped to her feet. "And if you and dad are gonna be together, then you're basically my second dad. Which is cool!" She leaned over and kissed them both on the cheek before heading for her room. "Night! Love you!"

"Love you too," said Qrow and Taiyang, a half-second behind each other. Once Ruby was gone, they turned to look at each other. Qrow looked mildly terrified, Taiyang felt mostly amused, but a pit formed in his stomach when he realized the look on Qrow's face was genuine fear and not just surprise.

"Qrow? You all right?" Taiyang turned so that he was facing Qrow, bringing his legs up onto the couch and tucking them under himself.

Qrow managed a nod, still paler than he should have been. "Yeah. I… I think so." He shook his head, blinking hard. "Never, uh, never thought I'd be called a dad, is all."

"I can tell her not to," said Taiyang. He reached out and rested a hand on Qrow's knee. "If it bothers you."

"No," said Qrow. "It's weird, but I'll live." He scooted closer to Taiyang and rested on of his hands on Taiyang's. "Let her pick who her parents are."

Taiyang smiled, his eyes warm. "I like it."

"What?"

"Her thinking of you as a dad," said Taiyang. "I never thought that anything like that would happen. The most I'd hoped for was that the kids wouldn't mind… _us_. But both of them have been incredible."

Qrow nodded, glancing back at Ruby's room. "They really have been."

Taiyang leaned forward, his breath ghosting over Qrow's lips. "You know," said Taiyang, "the house will be empty, after this weekend."

"Really?" said Qrow, a teasing tone in his voice.

"And you don't have any missions lined up…"

"I don't," agreed Qrow, grinning now.

Taiyang closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to Qrow's. A gentle laugh bubbled between them, but they didn't break their kiss. Qrow slipped a hand into Taiyang's hair. Taiyang yanked Qrow into his lap. Taiyang tilted his head up to deepen the kiss. Qrow pressed himself flush to Taiyang. Soft noises rose between them.

Then, "Dad – oh! Sorry." Taiyang and Qrow broke apart to find Ruby standing in the door, looking flush.

"What is it, hun?" asked Taiyang. Qrow climbed out of Taiyang's lap, stiff and embarrassed.

"Zwei peed in the hall," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Taiyang sighed. "I'll get the mop." He went to stand, paused, and leaned over and kissed Qrow's cheek. Then he headed into the kitchen for the mop. From there, he could ear Ruby giggling and Qrow muttering darkly under his breath.

Taiyang smiled. Nights like these, he couldn't think of a better family to have.


End file.
